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Dimapur, Nov. 25 (EMN): The World Meetei Council (WMC) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove Chin-Kuki people from the list of Scheduled Tribes in Manipur.
WMC in a representation to the Prime Minister, dated November 25, claimed that the Chin-Kuki groups of people migrated from Myanmar and they were permitted by the Manipur government to settle under the refugee settlement policy on humanitarian consideration.
“However, when the Chin-Kuki groups of people got settled down in Manipur they became trouble creators, even working to carve out an independent homeland, which they call as Zalengam,” WMC stated.
The representation pointed out that Meeteis, along with the Nagas, are the aboriginal people of Manipur.
“They (Meeteis) are formed by seven clans or seven big families which we called as Salai Taret. However as the Meetei were converted to Hinduism in 18th century, they were taken as Aryans. That was the only reason why Meeteis were taken as general and not as a Scheduled Tribe,” it stated.
It went on to say that as Meetei elders too were proud to be identified as Aryans, they never pointed out that Meeteis were aboriginal people like the Nagas.
WMC also alleged that the Meeteis are not allowed by the Indian Constitution to live as rightful citizens in Manipur and that the can live only in 9% of the area of Manipur, which is the valley area situated in the middle.
“This is great injustice meted out to the Meetei people. The reason being Meeteis are not included in the list of Scheduled Tribes and the 91% land area of Manipur is protected for the communities who are enlisted in the ST list,” it stated.
It also stated that when Meetei people are asking for their rightful place in the list of Scheduled Tribes as they fulfill all the criteria prescribed by the Lokur Committee, a section of the communities who are wrongly enlisted as Scheduled Tribes, namely the Chin-Kuki groups of people in the name of All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) raised objections to the Meeteis’ demand.
WMC further alleged that since the migrant Chin-Kuki people do not know the history of the Meeteis, they are going much beyond Manipur. “They are seriously trying to demonize the Meetei population across borders especially among the Scheduled Tribes population in India. Such unrestrained communal activities of these Chin-Kuki people are bound to cause serious unwanted situations in Manipur and northeast as well,” it stated.
“The law of the land is clear. Migrants and their children cannot in any case become Scheduled Tribes in India and particularly in Manipur. Indeed the Scheduled Tribes in India are the aboriginal inhabitants of the land who are generally called as indigenous people. The Chin-Kuki groups of people are still living in their original homeland - the Chin state in Burma,” the representation stated.
“And it may also be pointed out that they also claim to be Jewish people and the Israeli government have accepted them and accordingly some of them have migrated to Israel and settled there. These are the facts based on records which are available in the government records of Manipur and the Centre as well,” it added.
Based on the “above mentioned facts on the Chin-Kuki groups of people who are wrongly enlisted in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Manipur,” WMC appealed to the Prime minister to ensure that only the genuine indigenous people are enlisted.